Haunted by the Past
by tewksgirl
Summary: Tom and Doug are on vacation when Tom recognizes someone from his past. Little does he know that the past is going to come back and haunt him. Takes place after Eternal Flame. Disclaimer: I do not own 21 Jump Street or its characters.
1. Chapter 1

**Well, here we go again…after a huge case of writer's block, I think I may have come up with something. There will be some references to the episode, "Eternal Flame" in this and as usual (to my dismay) I do not own 21 Jump Street or any of its characters.**

**By the way, I know the first couple of chapters will be a bit slow, but don't worry; I have lots of angst and good stuff up my sleeve for later **

**Chapter 1**

"Wake up sleepy head."

No, this could not be happening. Not now, not this early in the morning. He peeked through his dark eyelashes to find the clock staring back at him. 7:30 a.m. No, this was definitely NOT happening!

Tom felt the covers yanked away from his body. "I said, Wake up sleepy head!" The voice was louder this time and it definitely belonged to Doug. It wasn't a bad dream. His best friend and partner was actually in his hotel room, waking him up at this ungodly hour of 7:30.

Tom rolled over onto his stomach and smashed his face into his pillow. "Go away Doug." He mumbled as he closed his eyes. At this particular moment, all he wanted to do was sleep.

Tom had to give his friend credit for one thing. He was persistent. Just to prove his point, he was suddenly blinded, as the curtains were quickly yanked open, letting the morning sun flood his room with the brilliant golden rays.

Mumbling to himself once more, Tom pushed himself up into a sitting position. He sighed and brushed his dark hair out of his eyes. "Doug, what the hell is the matter with you?" he asked, looking at the face of his smiling friend.

Doug chuckled and said, "What?" A look of innocence crossed his face.

Tom mumbled once again before saying, "Do you know what time it is?"

Doug nodded and pointed out the window. "Of course I know what time it is." He smiled and added, "It's time for our vacation to begin. Just look at that view out there!"

Tom let a smile cross his lips as soon as those words escaped Doug's mouth. Tom knew his friend well enough by now that he knew what Doug's version of the word "view" meant. He stood up and walked over to the window. Sure enough, he spotted the many bikini-clad women walking the beach below. Tom laughed, despite himself. "You never change, do you Doug?"

Doug just shook his head and grinned that goofy grin he was famous for. "Oh, come on Tom. Live a little, will ya?"

Tom shook his head, knowing that he couldn't win this one. "Okay, let's go get some breakfast, then we can check out the view, as you so eloquently put it."

Doug smiled at Tom and they both broke out into grins as they saluted each other, yelling "Heh!" in true McQuaid fashion.

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An hour later they were down on the beach, both decked out in their swim trunks and shirtless, walking along the beach enjoying the sun and the view.

"Can you believe we have two whole weeks here?" Doug asked as he smiled at a beautiful blonde walking past them.

"I can't believe that Fuller actually gave us that much time off." Tom admitted.

"He was impressed with the bust we made. I mean, who knew those college kids were connected to such a major player." Doug said.

Tom ran his hand through his hair, thinking about the drug case they had just finished. "I'm just glad that one is over with. I mean, six weeks in college was just way too much to handle."

Doug looked at his friend and added, "But it was worth it to get two whole weeks here in San Diego, wasn't it?"

Tom couldn't help but agree. It was wonderful down here and who could complain about the sights and sun? He was about to comment when something smacked into his head at that moment. Immediately his hand went to the bump that was forming on his temple. "What the…?" he asked.

"I am so sorry." A female voice said. "Are you alright?"

Tom looked up to find a beautiful brunette standing in front of him. She was about his height and had shoulder length straight hair. Her eyes were a beautiful shade of light brown. She had a few freckles sprinkled across her nose and cheeks. Tom found himself suddenly speechless.

"Are you okay?" the female voice asked again.

"Uh, yeah." Tom was finally able to utter. "I'm fine, thanks." As Tom replied, he noticed Doug had joined them along with a blonde woman.

Doug handed over the Frisbee that had hit Tom in the head. "I think this may belong to you two beautiful ladies."

The blonde woman took the Frisbee as she smiled at Doug. "Thanks." She said. "I'm Jessica and this is my friend Jill. We were just enjoying the beautiful weather and tossing around the Frisbee… although I think maybe we should work on our aim." She said with a small laugh.

"I'm Doug and this is my friend Tom." Doug said as he smiled at Jessica. "It's nice to meet you both. You from around here?"

Jill nodded, "Yeah, we just moved out here last year. How about you guys?" She looked Tom in the eyes and smiled.

Tom smiled back and said, "Uh, no…we're on vacation out here for two weeks."

"Well then, you guys have to let us take you sightseeing." Jill said.

"We wouldn't want to interrupt your plans." Tom said, receiving a jab from Doug's elbow.

"Nonsense. I did hit you with a Frisbee, so the least we could do is take you guys sightseeing." Jill said. "We won't take no for an answer."

Before Tom could answer, Doug spoke up. "Well, how could we turn down an offer like that, right Tom?"

Tom smiled and looked at Doug. "I'd say we'd be crazy to turn down two such beautiful tour guides."

Jessica and Jill looked at each other and giggled. "Great. How about we pick you guys up at your hotel in about an hour?" Jill asked. "Where are you guys staying?"

Tom answered this time. "The Coronado Springs Hotel. Rooms 503 and 504."

Jill smiled at Tom and said, "Great. We'll see you in an hour." With that, Jill and Jessica turned to leave.

Tom and Doug watched as the two women walked out of sight. Doug whistled as he watched Jessica walk away. "I think I'm in love." He said.

Tom shook his head and laughed. "Oh boy… here we go again." He grabbed a hold of Doug's arm and led him back to their hotel. "Come on Casanova…let's go get ready for our sightseeing tour."


	2. Chapter 2

**I know, I know…this chapter is still a little slow, but I have to build up to the action. Next chapter will have a surprise, I promise. **

An hour later, Tom found himself sitting in the back of a Jeep with Jill while Doug rode in the front next to Jessica. They were traveling down the highway that followed the sunny California coast. Jill leaned over towards Tom and pointed to the surfers that were busy catching the waves that pounded the beach. Suddenly the Jeep hit a pothole and caused Jill to land in Tom's lap. She blushed and pushed herself back upright.

"Sorry about that." Jill said.

Tom smiled at her and said, "No problem. You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

Doug noticed the interaction going on in the backseat and smiled. _Way to go, Tommy, he thought._ "How you guys doing back there?" he asked.

Tom shot him a look and said, "Just fine, Douglas."

Doug laughed and turned back to Jessica. "I could see myself living out here. I mean, what more could you ask for…the sun, the sand and a beautiful girl by my side, showing us the sights!"

Jessica turned towards Doug and smiled, "You know Doug, flattery might just get you somewhere!" She quickly winked at him and then turned her attention back to the road.

The foursome drove for about another 20 minutes before Jessica pulled the Jeep into a parking spot off the side of the road. She and Jill climbed out, grabbing a picnic basket from the back. Tom and Doug climbed out as well.

"Where are we?" Tom asked. He looked around and noticed the cliffs to their right.

"We thought we'd take you guys up there to the cliff. From there you can get a great view of the city and the ocean." Jill said, as she took Tom's hand and led the way. Jessica grabbed Doug's hand as they followed.

The climb was easy and as they made their way to the top of the cliff, Tom looked around at the scenery before him. He let out a low whistle before saying, "Wow. This is just beautiful up here." Jill pulled him over towards the edge and sat down, pulling Tom down with her. Doug and Jessica followed them over and sat down as well.

"We thought you guys would like it up here." Jessica said. "We come up here all the time when we just want to get away from our hectic life. It's quiet and peaceful up here."

"That it is." Doug agreed. "Thanks for bringing us up here."

"You're very welcome." Jessica said. "You guys hungry? We brought a picnic."

Doug smiled at her and said, "Well, you girls thought of everything, didn't you?"

Jessica smiled and handed Doug a glass of wine, then one to Tom and Jill. Next she handed out the food and then sat down close to Doug, where they got to know each other better.

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The sun was setting as the group packed up their belongings and headed back down to where the Jeep was parked. Doug and Jessica stood at the front of the Jeep.

"I had a really good time today Doug." Jessica said as she looked into his eyes.

Doug took her hand and said, "Yeah, me too." Doug leaned in and kissed Jessica gently on the lips. "A really good time."

Jill was holding Tom's hand as they made their way back to the Jeep. "Looks like your friend has made quit the impression on Jessica." Tom looked over to the front of the Jeep where Jessica and Doug were sharing a kiss. He chuckled as he saw Doug take Jessica's hand and lean in towards her.

"Yeah, it looks that way, don't it?" Tom said. Tom was startled when he felt Jill's hand come up to his cheek. Her fingers lingered for a moment before pulling Tom in for a kiss. He got lost in the moment when he felt his lips brush hers.

When they pulled away, Jill was the first to speak. "That was nice." She said and smiled.

Tom smiled back and said, "Yeah, really nice." He leaned in and kissed the brunette in front of him again. "That one was even better." He said with a grin.

"Um, are we interrupting?" Doug asked as they walked over to where his partner and Jill were.

"No…not at all." Tom said. "What's up?"

"We were thinking that maybe we could all go out dancing." Jessica said. "Jill and I know a great club we could go to."

Tom nodded, "Sure. But I'm not much of a dancer."

Doug came over and put his arm around his shoulder. "Don't worry buddy. I can teach you some moves."

The four friends started laughing and climbed into the Jeep. "Now this I have to see!" Jessica said as she pulled out onto the highway.


	3. Chapter 3

**Okay, this is where things are going to start getting interesting. Someone from Tom's past is going to cross paths with him once again. Get ready to hang on for a bumpy ride…**

**BTW, thanks so much to Dizzles and Firebunee for reviewing my story! Your kind words and reviews are always greatly appreciated!**

**Chapter 3**

As the group entered the club, Tom could actually feel the music pulsing through his veins. He wasn't one much for the dance club scene, but how could he turn down an evening with Jill. He had felt a special connection with her and hadn't really been in any serious relationships lately. So Tom let out a sigh and followed his friends into the club.

The place was already packed with people. There was barely room for them to squeeze through the moving bodies that were crammed in the club. Slowly they made their way over to the bar and were able to find an empty table in the corner.

"Great place." Doug said as they sat down. "You guys want something to drink?" he asked.

"I'll take a beer." Jessica said.

"My kind of girl." Doug said with a smile. "What about you Jill?"

"I'll have a beer also." Jill said.

Doug grabbed Tom's arm and led him up to the bar. "We'll be right back." He said to the girls.

As Tom and Doug waited for their beers, Doug turned to Tom and said, "Looks like you and Jill are hitting it off."

Tom couldn't help but smile as he answered, "Yeah. I really like her."

The bartender handed them their beers and they returned to their table. "Here you go Jessica." Doug said as he handed her over her mug. He then sat down close to her.

"A toast." Jessica said, as she raised her glass. "To new friends."

Tom, Doug and Jill raised their glasses as well and as their glasses clinked together, they all said, "To new friends."

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"Come dance with me Doug." Jessica said as she pulled his arm, getting him to follow her.

"You don't have to ask me twice." Doug said. He looked back at Tom and Jill and said, "You two behave now, you hear me?"

Tom punched him in the arm as he quickly walked away. "Very funny, Penhall." He said as he rolled his eyes. Once Doug and Jessica were out on the dance floor, Tom turned his attention back to Jill.

"Sorry about that." Tom said. "He's obnoxious, but he's completely harmless."

Jill laughed and said, "That's okay, I like him."

Jill leaned over and took hold of Tom's hand and then said, "So, Tom…how about you tell me more about yourself."

Tom took a drink of his beer and said, "Okay, what would you like to know?"

Jill thought for a moment and then said, "Well, what kind of work do you do?"

Tom always hated this question. Even though he loved being a cop, he always felt that it had prevented him from having any kind of serious relationship. Once the fantasy of what being a cop meant, the reality would set in and drive his relationships to the end. The women he had met would never be able to put up with the danger that came with the job.

"I'm a police officer." He said quietly.

"Really?" Jill asked. "Do you like being a cop?"

Tom nodded and took another swig of his beer. "Most times. It can be a little too much at times, but for the most part I enjoy it." He looked at Jill and added, "What do you do?"

"I'm a school teacher, believe it or not." She said. "I teach second grade."

"Do you enjoy it?" He asked.

"Yeah, I love being around kids. I find my job really rewarding." Jill said. She looked up and noticed Doug and Jessica heading back towards their table. "Looks like they're giving up for the time being."

"Man, you are a great dancer Jess." Doug said as they sat down. "I've had my workout for the night, trying to keep up with you!"

Jessica laughed and put her hand on Doug's. "You're not so bad yourself."

"So, what have you two been up to over here?" Jessica asked, eying her friend.

Jill laughed and said, "Just getting to know each other." She looked at Doug and asked, "So Doug, are you a cop too?"

Doug nodded and said, "Yeah, Tom and I are partners. We've worked together for six years now."

Jessica snuggled in close to him. "Ohh, a cop. That is so sexy." She said.

Jill rolled her eyes and laughed. "Oh boy, here we go." She looked at Doug and said, "She has a thing for guy's in uniform."

Doug shook his head and laughed. "Well, I don't actually wear a uniform. We're undercover cops."

Jessica looked at him and said, "Oh, even better."

Jill stood up and grabbed her friend's arm and pulled her to the dance floor. "Come on Jess…come dance with me. I think you need some time to cool off." She turned to Tom and added, "We'll be right back."

Tom and Doug watched as they made their way to the dance floor and started swaying to the music. Doug leaned in towards Tom with a goofy grin on his face. "Man, is this a great vacation or what?"

Tom shook his head and said, "Yeah, this is a pretty good vacation." He was watching the girls dance when he noticed something out of the corner of his eye. _No, it couldn't be…could it? I must be imagining things. I haven't seen her for over two years…_

"Uh, earth to Tommy?"

Doug was snapping his fingers in front of Tom's face.

"W-what?" Tom asked, still looking in the direction of the back of the dance floor. _I'd know that red hair anywhere…_

"Where did you just go?" Doug asked, beginning to get a little concerned. Tom was beginning to look a little pale, like he just saw a ghost. "You okay Tom?"

"Yeah…yeah I'm fine." Tom said.

Doug turned around to look in the direction of Tom's stare. "What are you looking at?" He asked.

Tom almost choked on his beer when the red head turned around. She was dancing with some guy, but Tom would know that face anywhere. It had been two years since she left and he thought that he would never see her again.

_She had her painting in her hand and turned to face Tom. She didn't want to be doing this, but she knew it was best for both of them._

_Tom noticed the painting in her hands and it dawned on him what she was doing. "Where are you going?" He asked, afraid of the answer._

_"I'm leaving." She had said. "Come on Tommy, don't look at me like that. Please."_

_"You're leaving?" he asked. "But why?"_

_"It's the best thing for both of us." She had said as she was leaving. "I've never been out on my own and I need a new start. Both of us do…"_

_"Where are you going?" He asked._

_"If I told you, it wouldn't be a fresh start would it?" She said._

_Tom turned around just as she left the room. "Linda…" he called out, but it was too late. The love of his life had just walked out the door. The woman he had proposed to when they were only 19. The woman who had turned him down and walked out of his life once before. She was the reason he had gone to the police academy, to get over her walking out on him._

"Tom?" Doug asked again, "What's wrong?"

Tom's eyes never left her. "It's her Doug, she's back."

Doug shook his head, confused. "Who's back?"

Tom's heart fluttered as he watched her on the dance floor. All of the old feelings came rushing back to him before he could stop them. "Linda." He said quietly.

**Okay, hopefully you all know which Linda I'm talking about. I loved the episode, Eternal Flame. I always thought Tom Hanson was so hot in that episode and when I heard about his love for Linda and how they never worked out, I felt so bad for him. He was so passionate about her that I thought she needed to make a comeback…. But be warned, it won't all be fun and games……. Tbc.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

"Linda?" Doug asked. "Who's Linda?" A look of confusion crossed his face as he followed Tom's gaze across the dance floor.

Tom swallowed hard and began to stand up. "Linda…the one…the one I was going to marry." He began to make his way through the crowd on the dance floor, with Doug following close behind. He was almost to the couple when she turned around. A look of shock crossed her face and then a smile slowly crept up onto her lips.

"Tommy?" the red head asked. She turned to the guy she was dancing with and asked, "Can you excuse us for a minute?" He nodded and made his way off the dance floor. She turned her attention back to Tom and brought him in for a hug.

"Am I dreaming?" Tom asked as her hair brushed his face. He was surprised that she still wore the same perfume that she did when they were younger. "Are you really here?" he asked.

Linda pulled back and laughed. "Yeah Tommy, it's really me." She brought her hand up to his cheek and took a good look at him. "How have you been?"

Tom still couldn't believe that he was standing there talking to Linda. "Good. How about you?"

"Um, excuse me…I don't know if you remember me, but I'm Tom's best friend, Doug Penhall." Doug interrupted.

Linda looked at Doug and smiled. "Of course, you're the one who saved us from Gavin." She reached out and shook Doug's hand. "Nice to see you again."

"Would you like to join us at our table?" Doug asked as he pointed over to the bar area.

Linda nodded and followed them over where Jessica and Jill were sitting. "Oh, um, I don't want to interrupt anything here." She said.

"Don't worry." Tom said, "It's fine. Linda, this is Jessica and Jill. They've been showing us the sights around the city."

Jill looked up at Linda and sighed. She could tell by the way that Tom looked at her that they were more than just friends. "Uh, nice to meet you Linda. Do you and Tom know each other?"

Linda nodded as she sat down. "Yeah, Tommy and I have known each other for a long time."

Tom leaned into Jill and whispered, "Can I talk to you for a minute?" He reached out for her hand as she nodded and he led her over to a quiet spot by the bar. He was about to explain when Jill interrupted him.

"It's okay Tom. You don't have to say anything." Jill began. "I can tell by the way you look at her that you have feelings for her still."

Tom looked down and then said, "I'm sorry Jill. The last thing I want to do is hurt you, but Linda and I go way back…"

Jill put her finger to Tom's lips and then gave him a quick kiss. "It's okay…I understand." She gave him a smile and then held out her hand. "We can still be friends."

Tom shook her hand and smiled, "Friends." They walked back to the table where Jill sat next to Jessica. "Um, Would you guys mind if Linda and I take off? We've got some catching up to do."

Doug nodded and said, "I'll meet you back at the hotel later."

Tom took Linda's hand and led her out of the club. Once outside, he turned to her and looked in her eyes. "I still can't believe you are really here." He couldn't help it, but the old feelings he had for her came rushing back and all he wanted to do was wrap her in his arms and hold on forever.

As they walked downtown, Tom and Linda were able to catch up on the happenings of the past two years. They were able to pick up right where they had left off. They found a small café downtown and made their way to a secluded table in the back. Tom ordered two coffees and settled in beside Linda where they could continue catching up.

"I've really missed you Tommy." She said. "These past two years haven't been the same without you."

Tom leaned in and took her face in his hands, drawing her in for a delicate kiss. It quickly turned passionate and they finally pulled away from each other, breathless. "I've missed you too." He said.

Linda moved closer to Tom and said, "How long are you guys out here for?"

"Two weeks. Doug and I are on vacation." Tom said, "Are you living out here now?"

Linda nodded. "Yeah. I came out here after I left. I took the money that I got from Gavin and opened up my art gallery. It's small, but it's all mine." She smiled and added, "Would you like to come see it?"

"I'd love to. How about tomorrow?" he asked.

Linda smiled and took his hand. "Great." Her face turned serious. "I wanted to apologize to you for leaving the way I did after Gavin was arrested."

Tom turned her towards him and asked, "Why did you leave? I thought we had picked up where we left off. I was going to leave the force for you."

Linda shook her head, her red hair falling over her shoulders. "Tommy, you were born to be a cop. I would never ask you to leave your job for me."

"I would have given it all up for you if you would have stayed." Tom said, a sigh escaping from his lips.

Linda cradled Tom's face in her hands. "That's why I left. I couldn't let you throw away your life for me. We both needed to figure things out."

"I know that I still love you. I've never stopped loving you." Tom said.

Linda whispered, "I love you too." Before taking Tom into a passionate kiss that felt like it would never end.

"Um, excuse me…" The waiter said, interrupting them. "We're closing."

Tom and Linda pulled away from each other before laughing. "Sorry." Tom said, pulling Linda up and leading them out of the café.

Still laughing, they walked back to Tom's hotel. "Do you want to come in?" he asked, hope in his eyes.

Linda wrapped her arm around Tom's waist. "Yeah." Was all she said.

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A dark sedan was parked out in front of the Coronado Springs Hotel. He watched as the young red head leaned in to kiss the man she was with. He looked down at the two pictures in his hands. One was of a red head standing next to Gavin McHugh, his boss. The other was of a man with brown hair that fell over his dark brown eyes. This man was the reason Gavin McHugh was sitting in prison at this very moment. The man in the photo worked for Gavin at his club, _The Fun House_, a few years ago. Gavin had a good thing going there until he had found out that Tom Hardigan was actually an undercover cop sent in to bust him for supplying LSD to the patrons of his club. Tom Hardigan was also the reason for losing his Linda.

The man sitting in the sedan took one last look at Tom Hanson, aka Tom Hardigan, and Linda before they walked into the hotel together. He picked up his cell phone and dialed a number.

"It's Tony." He said. "I've found them." He hesitated as he listened intently to his instructions. "Yes sir. Understood. I'll keep you updated." Tony hung up the phone and then took out a handgun from his glove box. He checked the magazine to make sure it was fully loaded. "Enjoy yourselves while you can." He said as he pointed the gun towards the hotel, pretending to take aim and firing. "You won't be around much longer to enjoy anything."


	5. Chapter 5

**Okay, here we go again…another one of those filler chapters that I hate so much, but it really needed to be done to make the story flow right. Hopefully no one gets to bored and stays with me for the rest of the story. **

**Chapter 5**

Tom had been awake for about an hour. He had his arm draped around Linda, who was snuggled in close to him as she slept. Tom loved watching her sleep. His life suddenly felt complete, now that she was back. Tom sighed, content to just lie there and watch the love of his life sleeping peacefully next to him. All Tom could think about was that he wanted it to be this way for the rest of his life. He had been thinking about this for the past hour and he decided that he knew what he had to do. Now he just had to pick the perfect time to set it all up.

"You know, if I didn't know any better, I'd think that you stayed up all night watching me."

Tom was startled out of his thoughts by Linda's voice. He brushed a strand of hair out of her face and said, "No…just for about the last hour." He bent over and kissed her. "Good morning."

Linda stretched and answered, "Good morning to you too Tommy." She pushed her body closer to his and leaned in for another kiss. "I could get used to this, you know."

Tom laughed and rolled over on top of Linda, looking into her eyes. "Me too. I love you." He whispered as he leaned in for another kiss.

"Hey Tommy, how did your date with Linda …" Doug said as he burst through the door. He noticed Tom and Linda were in bed together and quickly turned around, covering his eyes. "Uh…shit, I am so sorry guys. I didn't…know…uh."

Tom rolled his eyes and quickly covered Linda with the sheets. "Doug, don't you ever know how to knock?"

"Well, uh…" Doug stammered. "I just wanted to see how your date went last night…but I can see that it went pretty well." Doug couldn't help but smile and then let out a laugh.

Linda wrapped the sheets around her and sat up in bed. She shook her head, laughing as she did so. "It's okay Doug…you don't have to be embarrassed." She then added, "Good morning by the way."

"Good morning Linda." Doug said, still turned away from the bed. "Um, since you guys are up, would you like to go get some breakfast with Jessica and me?"

Tom looked over at Linda and shrugged apologetically. She nodded and said, "Sure Doug…breakfast sounds great. Give us 15 minutes to get ready. We'll meet you downstairs."

"Great….see you then." Doug said as he headed for the door. "Sorry again for the interruption."

Tom flung a pillow at his head and laughed. "Will you just get out of here Penhall? We'll be down soon."

"Okay, okay….jeez, don't get your undies in a bunch!" Doug said, then started laughing. "Oh yeah… I guess you aren't wearing any, are you?" Doug ducked quickly at the door as another pillow was flung his way.

Tom rolled his eyes once more and said, "Leave it to Penhall to ruin a good morning!"

Linda reached up and kissed Tom. "I think he's cute. Besides," she said as she climbed out of bed, letting the sheets fall to the ground, "He said he was sorry." She let out a squeal as she ran to the bathroom, Tom chasing her.

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Doug and Jessica were waiting downstairs in the hotel lobby when Tom and Linda made it down. Tom still felt a little uncomfortable about what had happened with him and Jill, so he looked at Jessica and asked, "Uh, how is Jill?" He chewed on his finger, waiting for an answer.

"Don't worry Tom." Jessica answered. "She's fine. In fact, she told me to tell you guys that she was happy for you."

As Linda and Jessica began walking out of the lobby, Doug grabbed Tom's arm to hold him back to get the details of his evening with Linda. "So?" he asked, impatiently waiting for the details.

Tom rolled his eyes at Doug and smiled. "So…what?" he said with a mischievous grin on his face.

Doug rolled his eyes and said, "Come on Hanson, don't hold out on me. What exactly happened last night with you two?"

Tom laughed at Doug's prying. "We made up for lost time."

Doug wrapped his arm around Tom's neck as they followed the girls outside. "You dog!" he said with an excited grin on his face. "I'm so proud of you!"

Tom laughed and said, "Shut up Penhall! It's not like that!" He stopped and turned to Doug, ready to tell him about his decision. "I have to tell you something. Something serious, so no joking around alright?"

Doug could tell by the sound of his voice that he was serious. "Yeah, okay man…what's up?"

A smile slowly crept across Tom's face as the words played in his head. "I'm going to ask Linda to marry me Doug."


	6. Chapter 6

**Okay, here we go… some more filler, but I promise some action will be coming along soon. I just have to perfect it first.**

**Chapter 6**

The two couples found an outside café just down the street from their hotel. As they sat eating their breakfast, Tom couldn't take his eyes of Linda. _Please don't let me be dreaming, he thought. This time, I'm not letting you get away Linda. We belong together; I can feel it in my heart. I've known this since we were 19. I'm going to ask you to marry me and if you say yes, you'll make me the happiest man alive._

"Tommy?" Linda asked, rubbing his arm. "Didn't you hear a word I said?"

Tom blushed and shrugged his shoulders. "Sorry…I guess I was daydreaming." He smiled at her and took her hand, his attention on her fully now. "What were you saying?"

Linda squeezed Tom's hand gently and repeated herself. "I was saying that it was such a beautiful day today, that maybe we should go and rent a boat and go out on the water for the day."

"That sounds great!" Tom said. "Could you give me an hour or so though? There's something that Doug and I need to go do first."

"There is?" Doug asked suspiciously. He let out a yelp as Tom kicked his leg under the table. "Oh, oh yeah…that's right, we have that thing to do first. But how about you girls go down to the docks and get everything set up and we'll meet you there?"

Jessica looked at Linda and nodded. "Sure, I think we can handle that." She leaned over and gave Doug a kiss on the cheek. "See you soon." She got up and waited as Linda leaned in and gave Tom a kiss on the lips.

Linda was getting ready to leave when Tom grabbed her hand and pulled her in close. "I love you." He said, before returning the kiss.

"I love you to Tommy." Linda said. She pulled her sunglasses down over her eyes and smiled at Tom before leaving. "See you soon."

After the girls left, Doug moved over to the seat next to Tom. "So, what exactly do we have to do?" he asked, curiously.

Tom left some money on the table for breakfast before standing up and pushing his chair in. "I was wondering if you'd go with me to help me pick out a ring for Linda?"

He watched as Doug beamed with excitement.

"You really want me to go with you?" Doug asked.

Tom nodded. "Of course. I mean, you're my best friend." He started. "Your opinion matters to me."

"Okay then. Let's go get you an engagement ring!"

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Tom and Doug were standing in the fourth jewelry store that they had looked at. They had looked at dozens of rings, but Tom couldn't find the perfect one. Linda was his soul mate and he had to find her the most perfect ring. He sighed and was about to walk out the store, when something caught his eye in a case by the front door.

"Um excuse me…could I see that ring right there?" Tom asked the salesman behind the counter.

"Ah, a beautiful choice sir." The salesman began. "Who's the lucky lady?"

Doug came up to stand beside Tom as he looked at the ring.

"Hopefully my fiancé." Tom said with a smile. "What do you think Doug?"

Doug took the ring and studied it. He couldn't believe that his best friend was about to propose to Linda. He remembered all the times he had tried to set Tom up on blind dates, only to have them fail miserably. He was beginning to doubt that Tom would ever find the perfect girl for him, but now as he studied the ring in his hand, he realized that Tom had done just that. He was happy for his best friend and handed the ring back to him.

"I think Linda will love it." Doug said.

"I'll take it." Tom said as he handed the ring back to the salesman.

"Excellent choice sir." He said. "I think that she will definitely say yes."

Tom sighed and said, "I hope so."

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Tony sat in his car across the street from a jewelry store. He had been following the two men for the past hour. He had no idea who the larger man was, but it didn't really matter to him. He was after Officer Tom Hanson. He just had to wait for the perfect moment to put his plan into place. As his phone began to ring, he kept an eye on the store while answering it.

"Hello?" He said. He listened as his partner filled him in on some business that he was taking care of. "Okay great. Just keep an eye on her, but don't let her see you. I'm still tracking the cop, so I'll get in touch with you soon. Bye."

Tony sat back in his seat as he watched the cop and his friend exit the jewelry store. He put his key in the ignition and started the car. He slowly pulled out and stayed a safe distance behind the men as to not get caught. He followed them until they reached the docks and met up with two women.

"Well, well…out for a day of fun with Linda are we, Officer Hanson?" Tony said. "Enjoy it while you can, officer. You won't be having fun for much longer!"


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Chapter 7

"I can't believe that you're actually going to propose to Linda." Doug said as he and Tom made their way down to the docks. "You growing up on me Hanson?" he asked with a grin.

Tom laughed as he thought about Doug's question. Finally he shook his head and answered, "Nah…I just can't lose her again Doug. You know, I proposed to her when we were 19."

"Really?" Doug asked. Curious as to what happened, he added, "So, why didn't you guys get married?"

Tom's face became more serious as he remembered the past.

_Tom Hanson couldn't believe what he was about to do. He knew, however, that it was the right thing to do, so he bent down on one knee and looked up at Linda, who was sitting in a swing at the park that they liked to visit. Gently, he took her hand in his and took a deep breath before speaking, "Linda, I love you with all my heart. We've been through so much together and I really do believe that fate has brought us together." He pulled out a small diamond ring that had belonged to his grandmother. He held it up for her to see. "Linda, will you marry me?"_

_Linda studied the ring and then studied Tom's face. They had been through a lot together. She really did love Tom with all her heart, but she just couldn't commit to him right now. One day, yes…she could definitely see herself as Mrs. Tom Hanson, but she didn't want to hold him back from his future. Tom had been talking about going to the Police Academy, to follow in his father's footsteps. Linda feared that if she were to say yes and marry him, that she would get in the way of Tom's dreams. She loved him too much to do that to him. Linda knew what she had to do…_

_"Oh Tommy," she began. She pressed her hand against his cheek lovingly as she carefully chose her words. "I love you so much, but I…I can't marry you." Tears slipped down her face as she stood up out of the swing and took off running, leaving Tom Hanson staring after her, dumbfounded by what had just happened._

"Earth to Hanson!" Doug said, waving a hand in front of his friend's face. When Tom's attention finally turned to him, he added, "Where did you just go?"

Tom shook his head, as if to clear away the bad memory. "Huh? Oh, sorry Doug. Um, what was the question again?"

"Why didn't you guys tie the knot back then?" Doug repeated.

Tom shook his head once again. "I'm not sure…all she told me was that she couldn't marry me."

Doug saw the look of despair in his partner's eyes and threw his arm around his shoulders. "Well, she'd be crazy to turn you down again!"

Tom smiled. "Thanks Doug." He said. "Come on, let's go meet the girls. They're going to think we got lost."

Tom and Doug hurried down the sidewalk towards the beach and the docks. They were completely unaware of the dark car that was following them. It crept along behind them, trying to stay out of sight. Tom and Doug made it to the crosswalk and waited for the signal to tell them it was okay to cross. As they waited, Tom noticed a young girl standing with her mother, who was looking back at him. She had a small teddy bear clutched tightly in her arms and she let a small grin escape her lips as she looked over at the young officer. Tom smiled back at the little girl and she quickly ducked behind her mother. Then, slowly she started to peek out from her mother's leg. Another smile and then quickly back behind the leg. Tom laughed as she kept repeating this. He was enjoying the game of peek-a-boo when the crosswalk signal changed, allowing them to safely cross the road.

The group of people had made it across the road when the little girl began crying hysterically. "Teddy!" she screamed, pointing back at the crosswalk. "Mommy…teddy!"

Tom turned around and spotted the little bear lying in the road. The crosswalk signal showed that there was still time for pedestrians to cross. "Don't worry, I'll get it." Tom said to the little girl.

"Thank you." Said the mother. Tom nodded and made his way back into the street to pick up the little girl's bear. Just as he reached it, he bent down to pick it up and dust it off. He held it up so the little girl could see it and then began walking back to them.

Doug shook his head at his partner. _He and Linda are going to be great parents some day, he thought._ Just then, movement caught his eye. A black sedan suddenly pulled out of a parking spot along the road and came rushing towards the crosswalk. "Tom! Look out!" he screamed. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. The car was racing down on Tom and didn't appear as if it was going to slow down. "TOM!" Doug screamed once again.

Tom heard Doug's frantic scream and then the screeching tires from the distance. Confused, he looked around and then noticed the dark sedan barreling down towards him. He stood, frozen for a moment, unsure of what was happening. The car was getting dangerously close when he finally broke from the spot where he stood frozen in fear. The car was almost upon him when he prepared himself to dive to the side of the road. Quickly he threw himself to the pavement, hoping to escape the path of the crazed driver.

Doug watched in disbelief as the car made it to the crosswalk without slowing down. In fact, it seemed as though it actually sped up, as it were about to reach Tom. He saw Tom try to jump out of the way and the car speed past. He was fortunate enough to get a license plate number as it sped by. Doug began running to the other side of the street when he noticed his partner's body lying face down on the pavement. "Tommy?" he yelled. He ran faster as fear took over the worry in his mind. Tom Hanson was lying motionless, face down on the pavement.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Doug knelt down beside his fallen friend and took in a deep breath. _Please, don't do this Tommy. You are supposed to be happy, you're going to get married and start a family of your own._ Doug gingerly reached out and checked for vital signs. Letting out the breath that he had been holding, he felt a strong pulse on his friend. "Tom? Can you hear me? Come on Tommy, wake up." Doug breathed another sigh of relief when Tom began to stir. Doug helped him turn over onto his back and quickly glanced over him to look for any obvious injuries to the young officer. "Hey, you okay?" he asked.

Tom opened his eyes and blinked a few times. He noticed a crowd of onlookers gathering around him and he suddenly felt quite awkward. "Wh-what happened?" he asked, turning to look at Doug.

Doug gently pushed Tom back down to the pavement. "Hey, don't move…you might have broken something." He said as Tom struggled to sit up. "That car almost killed you!"

Tom carefully moved each part of his body, inspecting for any broken bones. To his relief, he found that he was just extremely sore. "It's okay Doug, I'm fine. I jumped out of the way before they had the chance." Tom sat up and waited until his vision became steady. "I think I just hit my head when I landed."

Doug leaned in to examine Tom's head a bit closer. Sure enough, there was a small gash just below his hairline. A small trickle of blood was making its way down towards his right ear. "Well, you were unconscious, so I still want you to sit still. You could have a concussion." Doug turned to find two uniformed officers approaching them. They began clearing the crowd that had gathered around the Jump Street officers.

Both officers then made their way to where Doug and Tom were sitting. "What happened here?" The tall blonde officer asked.

Doug spoke up before Tom had a chance. "A black sedan just about ran my partner down here. He jumped out of the way, but I think he may have a concussion."

The blonde officer looked at the bleeding wound on Tom's head. "Partner?" he asked, curiously. "Are you guys cops?"

Tom spoke first this time. "Yeah, we're undercover cops from Metro." He put his hand to his head, trying to ease the headache that was beginning to creep in. "We're here on vacation." He added.

The uniformed officer nodded his head and then exchanged a few words with his partner, who took out his radio and called in for an ambulance.

"That's not necessary." Tom said, as he started to stand. He was caught off guard however as the dizziness and nausea that seemed to strike him from out of nowhere. He started to stumble, but Doug and the blonde officer caught him before he had a chance to hit the ground.

Doug and the officer helped Tom over to a bench on the sidewalk. "Really, I'm okay now. I just got a little dizzy." The world was still spinning a bit, but Tom really hated the attention that he was drawing to himself.

"Tom, I really think you have a concussion. Let's just get it checked out, okay?" Doug said, just as an ambulance pulled up. Two paramedics hopped out of the ambulance, one of them carrying a first aid bag.

"What happened here?" The female paramedic asked, kneeling in front of Tom to look at the gash on his head. Tom winced as she probed the injury. "Sorry." She said with sympathetic eyes.

"Hit and run." The blonde officer stated. "It appears that he has a concussion. He lost consciousness for a few moments, dizzy and nausea as well." He then turned to Doug and said, "Could I get a statement from you while they check him out?"

"Sure, anything I can do to help." Doug said. "I was able to get a plate number. I'm not sure what make of car though, although it was a black sedan."

"Great. We'll run the plate and see what happens then." Doug gave him the plate number and then returned his attention to Tom. "How's he doing?" he asked the paramedics.

"Stubborn, that's how." She said, shaking her head. "We need to take him into the hospital for observation. I'm pretty sure he has a concussion and we need to do some follow up tests. But he's refusing to go."

Doug shook his head. Leave it to Tom to show his stubbornness at a time like this. He reached down and took Tom's arm. "Get up." He said, pulling at his partner.

"What?" Tom said. "Doug, what are you doing?" As he stood, the dizziness once again hit him unexpectedly.

Doug caught him and pulled him to the ambulance. "You are so going to the hospital and if you even argue with me, I'll put you into the ambulance with force."

Tom looked at him with disbelief. "You wouldn't…" he started.

Doug looked him square in the eyes and said, "Try me."

Tom groaned and then let Doug help him into the ambulance. "Fine." He mumbled as the doors were closed behind him.

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Doug was sitting in the hospital waiting room when he heard a familiar voice calling to him. He looked up and found Jessica and Linda running towards him. Doug had called the girls from his cell phone once they had taken Tom into a room to check him out. He stood up, just in time for Linda to grab his arm. "Doug, where is he? How is he doing? Is he okay? Oh god!" all of her questions rushed out of her mouth so fast, that she had to stop and take a deep breath.

Doug put his arms around her shoulders to calm her. "Linda, it's okay. He's going to be fine." He smiled at Jessica, who joined them on the chairs. "They are just running some more tests, but it looks like just a concussion."

Linda let a sob escape from her lips as she buried her head in her hands. "Oh my…I was so afraid." She looked up at Doug, her face streaked red from the tears. "I can't loose him now Doug. I just can't." She let Doug pull her into a hug as he rubbed her back to calm her.

"Linda… I was with him. I promise that he's going to be fine." Doug said. "He's strong and stubborn. He fought with the paramedics about even coming here." A smile crossed his lips as Linda let a laugh out.

"That's my Tommy." Her face then grew serious as she pondered how to ask the next question. "What exactly happened Doug?"

Doug sighed, not sure of the extent of the day's happenings that he should reveal to her. Making his mind up to tell her the truth, he sighed before he began. "It was a hit and run. The car never even slowed down, nor did he stop."

Linda gasped at the news. "Why did this happen?" she asked, more to herself than anyone else.

"Don't worry Linda. The cops will catch the guy. I got a plate number and they're checking it out now."

Linda was about to say something when the doctor came over to them. "Are you all with Tom Hanson?" When they nodded, he continued. "He's got a mild concussion. He's still a bit dizzy, but he should be fine. I just want to keep him overnight for observation. He'll be able to leave tomorrow."

Linda spoke before anyone else. "Can I see him?" she pleaded.

"Of course." The doctor said. "Follow me." Linda looked back at Doug and Jessica.

"Go ahead. We'll wait here so you can have some time alone." Doug said, taking Jessica's hand.

Linda smiled at him. "Thanks Doug." Then she hurried to follow the doctor to Tom's room. As soon as the doctor showed her which one was his, she opened the door to find Tom sitting up in bed, fumbling with the bandage on his head. "Oh Tommy." She said, running to his side and throwing her arms around him. Tears were once again falling from her eyes.

Tom brought her in for a hug and rubbed her back. "Hey…hey, it's okay. I'm fine, Linda, really." He could tell that she was really shaken up over the whole ordeal. "Shh, it's okay."

Linda pulled back and looked Tom in the eyes. She believed his words, but still couldn't help the way she felt. "I was so scared Tommy. I thought I was going to loose you."

Tom pulled her in for a kiss. It started out slow and gentle and then quickly turned passionate. After a moment, he pulled away and brushed a loose strand of hair out of her eyes. "You're not going to loose me. I'm not letting you go either." He leaned in for another kiss to prove his point. Tom and Linda were so lost in their passionate embrace that they didn't hear the door open.

"Oops, sorry guys." Doug said, a blush of embarrassment crossing his face.

Tom and Linda pulled away and laughed. Linda climbed in next to Tom on the bed and then said, "Don't worry Doug, it's okay."

Doug laughed and then said, "So, I see you're feeling better now Tom?" He ducked, pulling Jessica with him as a pillow flew at his head. "Okay, okay…I'll take that as a yes."

"Doug, leave them alone!" Jessica said. "Jeez, you are so bad." She punched him in the arm and then giggled as he pulled her in close to him and planting a kiss on her lips.

"Hey, get a room, you two!" Tom said with a laugh. He laughed even harder as Jessica stuck her tongue out at him. "Oh, how mature. You've obviously been hanging out with Penhall too long!"

"Hey, I resent that Hanson!" Doug said, although a chuckle escaped his lips. He then got serious and asked, "You feeling any better?"

"Yeah, just a bit of a headache." Tom said. "Why don't you guys go out and enjoy yourselves. There's no sense in all of us being stuck in this damn hospital room."

Doug raised his eyebrow, feeling a little guilty about the thought of going out and having fun while his best friend was in the hospital. "You sure? I mean, we could stick around here and keep you company."

Tom shook his head. "What, do you want to bore poor Jessica to death?" he asked. "Penhall, take the girl out and have a good time. No arguments or I will have to force you out of here myself!"

Doug laughed at the mention of using force. Tom was repaying him for making him get into that ambulance. He quickly did their signature McQuaid salute and took Jessica by the hand. "Want to go have some fun?" He asked.

Jessica nodded, pulling away from Doug's hand. She made her way over to Tom's bed and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Take care of yourself Tom and we'll see you guys tomorrow." Linda waved to her as she led Doug out the door.

Tom couldn't help to throw one last jab at Doug. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do Douglas!"

Doug peeked his head back into the door and smiled. "Don't worry, Thomas, I'm not taking her bowling!" He quickly shut the door before Tom could reply.

Linda laughed, watching the two partners go after each other. "You two are such good friends." She said.

"Yeah, Doug's like a brother to me." Tom said. He then turned his attention to Linda, as he pulled her down next to him in the bed. He tightly wrapped his arms around her slender body, pulling her close so that their bodies touched. "I love you Linda."

She smiled at him and kissed him gently on the lips. "I love you Tommy." She then laid her head down on Tom's chest and fell asleep, content to listen to the sound of his heart beating.


	9. Chapter 9

**Okay, here we go… time for some really romantic stuff and then…beware…the angst and torture will begin real soon! Oh, evil, I know, but what can I say?? Anyway, enjoy! **

**Chapter 9**

Doug had gone earlier that day to pick up Tom from the hospital once he had been released with a clean bill of health. Now he stood in Tom's room watching as his best friend nervously checked his reflection in the mirror. Doug smiled to himself as he witnessed the nervousness show in his best friend's actions. "Hanson, calm down." He said, "You're starting to make me nervous!"

Tom ran a hand through his dark hair and then turned to Doug. "I can't help it. I've never been this nervous before in my life." He stole one more glance at himself before adding, "What if she says no?"

Doug walked over to Tom and patted him on the shoulder. "Hey, if she loves you as much as I think she does, the only answer she'll have is yes."

"Thanks Doug." Tom said. "For everything, especially helping me get this set up for tonight."

"Hey, what are friends for?" Doug said. "You have the ring?"

Tom patted his pocket in his tuxedo pants. "Safe and sound, right here."

"Well then, you'd better get going. You don't want to keep her waiting." Doug said, following Tom out of the room.

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Doug pulled the rental car up along side the curb. He got out and made his way up to the front door of the small two story blue house. He was almost as nervous as Hanson was and he wasn't even the one who was going to propose. He made it to the door and reached out to ring the doorbell. A few seconds later, Linda opened the door. She looked beautiful dressed in a knee length red dress with spaghetti straps. Her flowing red hair was pulled up loosely with a few curls falling around her face. She looked surprised when she found Doug standing at her doorstep.

"Uh, hi Doug." She started. "Is Tommy ok?" she asked, beginning to get worried why Doug was here and not Tom, who was supposed to be taking her out for dinner.

Doug shook his head. "Yeah, Tom is fine. He's uh, running a bit late and asked if I would pick you up for him."

"Oh, okay. Sure." Linda said. "Just let me grab my purse."

Doug watched as she went back into the hallway and grabbed her purse off the coat rack. She came out onto the porch and shut the door behind her. "Okay, I'm ready." She said.

Doug held out his hand for her and folded hers into his elbow as he escorted her to his car. "You look beautiful tonight Linda." He said.

Linda couldn't help but blush and said, "Well thank you Doug." She waited as Doug held open the car door for her to get in and began to wonder what was going on. She felt like Doug was up to something and Tommy was behind it all. She decided she would see if she could find out anything when Doug got in the car and pulled away.

"Doug, what's going on?" she asked.

Doug didn't make eye contact with her for fear of giving the big secret away. "Uh, nothing. Tom's just running a little late and he didn't want you guys to loose your reservations for dinner."

Linda nodded and said, "Oh, okay." But she still couldn't help the feeling that he was hiding something. She decided not to push the subject any further and watched out the car window at the city lights fading into the distance. "Where are we going?" she asked.

"Oh, Tom found this really romantic place for you guys to have some dinner." Doug said, a sly grin crossing his face. "We're almost there."

Curiosity was beginning to get the best of Linda and when she thought that she couldn't stand it any longer, Doug pulled the car into the parking lot at the beach that was just on the outskirts of town. "What are we doing at the beach?" she asked as Doug came around and opened the door for her and extending his hand out for her to take.

"Come on, you'll see." Was all he said as he led her down the boardwalk to the beach. As they came around the bend, Linda suddenly gasped at the sight before her. Down on the beach was Tom, dressed in a stunning black tuxedo. Just behind him was a beautiful table set for two, including candles and rose petals scattered about. A red carpet began at the end of the boardwalk and stopped just at the table. The next thing Linda noticed was the man playing a violin softly. His music blended magically with the sounds of the waves crashing onto the beach in the distance. The sunset in the background made for a glorious setting to a very romantic dinner.

"He's been waiting for you." Doug whispered to her. "Don't keep him waiting for too long." She looked up at him and quickly kissed him on the cheek.

"Thanks Doug." Was all she could say.

Doug quickly shot Tom the good old McQuaid salute and then a thumbs up sign before turning to go back to his car.

Linda was frozen in place when Tom made his way up to her. "You look beautiful tonight." He said, gently placing a kiss on her lips.

"Tommy…this is…this is so romantic." She managed to get out. She took his outstretched hand and followed him down to the beach, where he pulled out the chair and waited for her to sit down before helping her push in to the table. "What's all this for?" she asked, once she was able to speak.

Tom smiled and said, "For you. I wanted to do something romantic and special for you." He took the cover off her plate, and was pleased to hear the approving gasp that escaped her lips. "It's your favorites… lobster bisque and seafood linguine."

"Tommy, you remembered?" she asked, still lost in the thought that anyone would go to all this trouble for her.

Tom sat down and took the covers off his own dishes. "Of course I remembered. I know all your likes and dislikes, your hopes and your dreams. I love you Linda."

He reached across the table and took her hand in his. "I always have and I always will."

Linda could feel the tears of joy begging to escape, but she pushed them back and squeezed Tom's hand. "I love you too Tommy."

They sat and enjoyed the sunset and the sounds of the waves in the background as they ate their meals. After dinner, Tom brought out two small plates and sat one down in front of Linda. He smiled as he sat down and watched as she lifted the cover off of it slowly. He watched as her eyes lit up and the gasp that came from her as she carefully picked up the small black box that sat on the plate. "Tom?" she asked. "What…what is this?"

"Open it Linda." Tom said.

Slowly she opened the box and felt tears slip from her eyes as she saw the most beautiful ring that she had ever seen in the box. It had a white gold band beneath a stunning square diamond. On either side of it were two smaller square shaped diamonds. Linda took it out of the book and ran her fingers over it. She noticed something on the inside and inspected it closer. _Forever my love_ was engraved on the inside. "Oh Tommy…" she said, tears flowing freely now. "It's…it's beautiful."

Tom came around to her side of the table and knelt down on one knee in front of her. He took her hand and slipped the ring on her finger. "Linda, I love you with all my heart. I always have and always will. Our paths have crossed many times over the years only to take us on separate journeys. I want us to take the same path this time and take that journey together, as husband and wife. I can't loose you again. Without you, my life is incomplete." Tom took a deep breath, as he looked the love of his life straight in the eyes. "Linda, will you marry me?"

Linda sat, shocked at the confession that Tom had just made. She looked down at him and then at the ring. She could feel her heart fluttering in her chest. She never thought that she would be as happy as she was at this moment. She leaned in and took Tom's face in her hands. "Y…yes Tommy, Yes I will marry you."


	10. Chapter 10

**Okay, I'm sorry about the long time it's taken for me to update…darn writer's block again. I know which way I want this story to go, but it's all the filler that I'm having a problem with. I'm not real happy with how this chapter turned out, but oh well…hopefully I'll be able to make up for that in the next chapter! Hopefully I won't loose any readers with this one!**

**Chapter 10**

Tom lay in bed next to Linda, watching her sleep. _She's so beautiful, _he thought._ I've got to be the luckiest man alive to have someone like Linda in my life. I'm never going to let you go again, _he thought as he leaned over and kissed her gently on the lips. He smiled as her eyes fluttered open and she looked up at him.

"Good morning beautiful." Tom said, kissing her again.

"Hmm, good morning to you too." Linda said. She reached up and ran her fingers through his hair. "A girl could get used to this you know."

"That can be arranged." Tom said, wrapping his arms around her slender figure. He began kissing her neck and down her arm, emitting a quiet giggle from the red head next to him. He was planning his next move when the phone rang. "Ugh…great timing!" Reluctantly he reached over and picked up the phone. "Hello?"

Linda watched as Tom's face went from annoyed to shock. She waited anxiously for Tom to finish his conversation. When he finally hung up the phone, she sat up in bed and asked, "Who was that?"

Tom ran a hand through his hair and sighed. "It was the police station. They have some information on the guy that tried to run me down. They want us to come in this afternoon to discuss it."

"Did they say who it was?" Linda asked.

"No, they didn't want to discuss it over the phone." Tom looked at Linda and said, "We don't have to be there until two o'clock." He said with a wink.

Linda smiled and shook her head as she caught the hidden meaning behind Tom's words. "Tom…no, we have to go meet Doug and Jessica soon…" She quickly got up off the bed as Tom lunged for her. "Thomas Hanson! Don't you dare!" She began to run towards the bathroom when he came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her.

"Come on, we've got some time before we have to meet Doug and Jessica." Tom whispered in his ear. "I was hoping we could have a little fun first…"

Linda turned towards him and wrapped her arms around his neck. She let out a soft moan as Tom leaned in and kissed her softly. The kiss turned more passionate and they soon made their way into the bathroom, clothes falling into a trail along the way.

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It was two o'clock when the blue mustang pulled into the parking lot at the police station. Tom opened the door for Linda and took her hand as they made their way up to the station. They walked inside and were surprised to find Doug and Jessica sitting in the waiting room.

"Hey guys." Linda said. "You didn't have to come out here with us. We could have met up with you later."

"We wanted to be here for you." Jessica said, giving Linda a hug.

"Hey Doug, thanks man." Tom said.

"Don't worry about it Hanson. I'm just as eager to find out who this bastard is as you are." Doug said.

Just then, a uniformed officer stepped out of an office and said, "Tom Hanson?" As Tom and Linda stood, he held the door open and motioned them inside. "Please, have a seat." He motioned for them to sit in the chairs in front of the desk. Tom waited until Linda was seated before taking the seat next to him.

"As I told you on the phone Mr. Hanson, we think we know who was involved in your hit and run case." The officer started. He picked up the file folder that was sitting on his desk and opened it. "The car that tried to run you down belongs to a…Mr. McHugh. Gavin McHugh."

Linda's face paled as soon as the name left the officer's lips. "N-no…it couldn't be." She began trembling as Tom wrapped an arm around her. "He's in prison." She turned to face Tom. "Tommy…what are we going to do?"

The officer looked confused. "You guys know Mr. McHugh?"

Linda was still trembling. "He was my husband. He was sent to prison for selling drugs out of my club." She took a deep breath, unable to continue.

"I was the arresting officer in that case. When I went to arrest him, he pulled a gun on us and was about to kill me when my partner stopped him." Tom finished for her.

"I don't know how to tell you guys this, but Gavin McHugh was released on parole two weeks ago." The officer looked at his file again. "Seems he got off early for good behavior."

"Tommy, what are we going to do? He's not going to stop until he gets back at you." Linda said, the fear evident in her eyes.

"I think that if this guy is as dangerous as you say he is, you're going to have to be very careful. I'll get an unmarked car to follow you at all times. If Gavin McHugh tries anything, we'll get him."

Tom and Linda stood up to leave. Tom reached out and shook the officer's hand. "Thanks for everything." He said.

"You guys just be careful out there." Tom nodded and led Linda out to the waiting room.

"We'll try." Was all he could think.


	11. Chapter 11

**Just wanted to apologize to anyone that has left me a review. I don't have any email at the moment (our server is down), but as soon as it is back up and running, I'll be able to read them. So, a big thanks to anyone who has left a review lately! **

**Chapter 11**

Tom and Linda made their way out into the waiting room. Doug had his arm around Jessica's shoulders as she had her head lying against his chest. When they noticed their friends coming out of the office, they stood up.

"Well, what did you find out?" Doug asked. He could tell by the look on Tom's face that it wasn't good news.

"It's Gavin." Was all Linda could say. She turned around and buried her face into Tom's chest as he wrapped his arms around her protectively.

Doug looked at him with a puzzled glance. "Gavin?" he asked.

Tom nodded. "Gavin McHugh…Linda's ex-husband. Remember the case I was on at The Fun House?"

Doug nodded, remembering the case when he first met Linda. He had made it to the art gallery just in time to see Gavin McHugh holding Linda hostage and pointing a gun to Hanson. If Doug hadn't fired his gun at him, he would have killed his partner. "Yeah, now I remember. But isn't he in prison?"

"Apparently he got out on parole." Tom said. "Something about good behavior."

Doug shook his head. "Unbelievable." He stated. "So what do we do now?"

"I'm not going to run and hide." Tom started. "We're going to have an unmarked car following us, so I'm just going to go on and live my life. I can't be paranoid that Gavin is going to jump out of somewhere to get us."

Linda looked up at Tom at that moment. "Tom, you don't know what Gavin is capable of. Once he sets his mind to something, he doesn't give up." She let out a shaky breath before continuing. "I'm scared." She finally admitted.

Tom brushed a loose strand of hair out of her eyes. "Don't worry. I'm not going to let anything happen to you."

"It's not me that I'm worried about Tommy." She said.

"Maybe Linda's right Hanson. We shouldn't take this too lightly. I mean, he did try to kill you back then." Doug said. "He almost got you the other day with that car."

Tom answered, "I don't think Gavin was behind the wheel of that car. I think he had someone do it for him."

Doug ran a hand through his hair. "How about we go back to the hotel to figure out what we're going to do. We can order some room service and think about this."

Tom nodded and took Linda's hand. "Sounds like a plan. We'll meet you guys there."

They waved good-bye and made their way out to the Mustang. Tom started the engine and pulled out of the parking lot, heading towards the hotel. Little did he know what would be waiting for them once they arrived.


	12. Chapter 12

**Let the good times roll….**

**Chapter 12**

Tom pulled the car into the hotel parking lot and went around to open the door for his fiancé. He grabbed her hand as they walked into the hotel lobby. They waited for the elevator doors to open and stepped inside. They had the elevator to themselves and once the door closed, Tom pulled Linda in close to him. He leaned in and gave her a kiss. "It's going to be okay Linda, you'll see. We'll be able to get married soon and start a family. We're going to be happy and there's nothing that Gavin can do to stop that."

Linda looked into Tom's dark eyes and sighed. "I hope so Tommy." Was all she could say before laying her head on his chest.

Tom lifted her chin to look at him. "I love you Linda and I'm not going to let anything come between us ever again. I promise you that." He was pleased when she looked at him and smiled. "Good, now how about we go in and wait for Doug and Jess." He said as they stepped out of the elevator. They walked down the hall and stopped in front of Tom's hotel room. Tom got out his key card and swiped it, allowing the door to unlock.

Tom opened the door and let Linda walk in before him. He was caught off guard as someone grabbed her and she let out a scream. Tom quickly reached for his gun, only to be grabbed and thrown roughly to the ground. A pair of strong hands pulled his gun from his holster and it was now pointed at his head. He didn't move as he noticed who had his fiancé gripped tightly by the neck.

"Gavin." Was all Tom could say.

Gavin McHugh stepped forward, a sly smile plastered on his face. "Well, well…Tom Hardigan. Or shall I say Tom Hanson." His grip on Linda tightened. Tom could her wince as the strong arm was squeezed across her throat. "It's been a long time Tom. We really should have gotten together before now."

"Let her go Gavin. She has nothing to do with this." Tom pleaded. He could still sense the gun trained on him, so he didn't dare make a move.

Gavin laughed. "Oh but Tom, she has everything to do with this. You see, I love Linda and you came into my club and took her away from me. I trusted you with her and how do you repay me? By taking her away. I've come back to get what's rightfully mine." Gavin then turned Linda around and kissed her, forcing his tongue into her mouth, hungry for her taste. Linda tried to fight back, but Gavin was too strong for her.

Tom felt his fists clench at the sight of Gavin forcing himself on his fiancé. Without thinking, he began to get up to help Linda, only to receive a harsh kick into his ribs. He fell to the floor, pulling his arms around his middle protectively before another brutal kick met its mark. Hanson coughed, the pain exploding in his bruised side. "Leave…her…alone." He panted.

Linda finally pulled away from Gavin and went to Tom's side. "Leave him alone!" she screamed. She finally noticed who Gavin's accomplice was. "Stop it Tony!" She leaned into Tom to ask him if he was okay when Gavin and Tony started laughing. She stood up and went over to Gavin, and without thinking slapped him, hard, across the face.

Gavin's face went from shock to anger and he grabbed Linda by the arm and flung her to the floor.

Tom was angered by what he saw and was able to get up and land a punch into Gavin's jaw. He was about to throw another punch when he felt something hard strike the back of his head. The room began to spin as he sunk to his knees. He could hear Linda scream and as he fought the darkness that was closing in, another blow to his head sent him to the ground, unconscious.

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Tom couldn't tell where he was. He could hear muffled voices that seemed to be off in the distance and he had a constant buzzing sound ringing in his head. His eyelids fluttered, but he couldn't get them to open. They were heavy and even just trying to open them was wearing him out. He knew that he needed to though and even though he didn't know why, he couldn't help the nagging feeling that he was in trouble. _What the hell happened?_ He wondered to himself. _Where am I? Why do I feel like this?_ His head was pounding and he felt slightly nauseous. He tried once again to open his eyes, and slowly but surely, he was able to do just that. He quickly regretted it though, as the bright light flooded his senses and he quickly shut them again. He drew in a deep breath and tried again, only slower this time. He blinked a few times, allowing his eyes to adjust to the light this time. He grimaced as a jolt of pain shot through the back of his head. He would have screamed out from the pain, but to his dismay he found that he was gagged. He tried moving the rest of his body, only to find that he was tied up to a chair. That was when everything hit him. Gavin, Tony,…LINDA! _Shit, where was Linda?_ He thought as he quickly surveyed the room. He sighed in relief when he saw her across the room, tied up as well. His eyes met hers and he sent her a look, asking if she was okay. He sighed in relief when she shook her head yes. Just then, Gavin walked into the room. Tom saw no sign of Tony anywhere.

"Ah, so nice of you to join us again Tom." Gavin said, patting his cheek. Tom cursed to himself at the touch. "Now, we have some business to discuss." He removed the gag from Tom's mouth and sat down in front of him. "I'm sure it's no surprise to you that I want Linda back. I'm going to take her with me and we're going to go someplace where we won't be interrupted anymore."

"Over my dead body." Tom said through clenched teeth.

"Oh, that can be arranged." Gavin said. He leaned forward to look Tom directly in the eyes. "I'm afraid that you loose Tom Hanson. Linda's mine and there's nothing that you can do about it." Gavin stood up and walked over to Linda. He removed her gag and bent in to kiss her. "You will be mine again, darling." He said as he ran his fingers over her face.

"Go to hell Gavin." Linda said. "I'm not going anywhere with you."

As Tom watched the conversation with Linda and Gavin, he was quietly working on the ropes that bound his hands. He almost had them loosened and was just waiting for the right moment. He was relieved when Gavin gave up on Linda and came back over and sat in front of him.

"You should have never crossed me Tom." Gavin began. "I actually liked you. You were good for business."

Tom smirked and said, "Yeah, well, I was trained well I guess. Part of being undercover, I guess you could say." He gave one last tug on the ropes and prayed that Gavin wouldn't notice that his hands were free. "You're just too trusting I guess."

"Maybe I am. But that doesn't matter now. I've got what I came back for…" he looked over at Linda and Tom took the opportunity to lunge forward in his chair. He grabbed Gavin by the collar and flung him to the floor. Gavin struggled to get his gun and point it at Tom. Tom fought to keep the barrel away from him as Linda screamed in the background. The two rolled around the floor, each fighting for control of the deadly weapon. Tom managed to roll on top of Gavin get his hands up above his head. Gavin still had hold of the gun, but at least it was pointed towards the wall. Tom fought to gain control of the situation and never noticed the hotel door open and Tony step in. He looked up in time to see Tony point his gun at him and fire.

Tom felt the searing hot pain as the bullet ripped into his side. The impact of the bullet caught him off guard and he fell onto the floor, clutching at his side. He heard Linda scream his name, but it sounded like it was far off in the distance. Tom fought to keep Gavin on the floor, but it was no use as the pain was too much too handle. He winced as Gavin sent a kick into his side and was almost lost to the world of consciousness when Gavin bent down in front of him.

"It was nice knowing you Tom. I'll take good care of Linda for you." He said before landing one more kick to Tom's already damaged side.

Tom screamed out in pain and watched through his clouded vision as Gavin and Tony grabbed Linda and pulled her out the door. He tried to get up, but his strength was failing and he fell back to the floor. He was able to whisper "Linda…no" before his world faded to black."


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13 Chapter 13

Doug pulled Jessica's jeep into the parking lot of the hotel. He hopped out and held the door open for her and waited for her to get out before closing the door behind her. He put his arm around her waist as they began walking to the front doors. Doug could hear a commotion coming from inside the lobby and walked up to the desk upon entering the building.

"What's going on in here?" Doug asked. He could hear police sirens in the background. He pulled out his badge and flashed it at the desk clerk.

"Someone was just kidnapped. Two men were dragging her out of here. They fired a few shots when someone tried to help her." The clerk stated.

Doug's heart began to pound in his chest. "Was anyone hurt?" he asked. His heart beat faster when the clerk nodded his head. "What did she look like?"

"Um, she was tall, had red hair…"

"Shit!" Doug exclaimed and took off for the stairs. "Stay here Jess." He yelled over his shoulder as he slammed open the door and took off up the stairs in a hurry. He pulled his gun out of the holster as he made his way upstairs. He stopped at the floor that their rooms were on and slowly made his way to Tom's room. He stopped in front of it and listened for any sound coming from the room. When he heard nothing, he went to reach for the doorknob and noticed that the door was slightly ajar. Taking a deep breath, he slowly pushed the door open, holding his gun out in front of him. Cautiously he took a step into the room, his gun trained in front of him. Quickly he surveyed the room and found no one around. He was about to leave when he saw a foot sticking out from behind the bed. Gun pointed in front, he slowly made his way over and couldn't help the startled gasp that escaped when he saw Tom's body lying face down and deathly still. What shocked him more was the growing pool of blood beside his partner's body.

"No! Tommy, hey man, can you hear me?" Doug put his gun into his holster and knelt down beside his friend. He carefully turned him over and noticed the gunshot wound in his left side. Blood was still trickling from the wound and Doug took off his plaid shirt and bunched it up, placing it on Tom's wound. He applied pressure to it to try and stop the bleeding. "Come on Tommy, please…" Doug checked for a pulse and let out a sigh of relief when he found a steady one. Doug pulled his friend into his lap and kept pressure on the wound. "Don't you give up now buddy, do you hear me? Tom? Come on man."

"Doug, what's going … oh my god! Tom!" Jessica screamed as she noticed the blood that was collecting in the makeshift bandage that Doug was pressing into Tom's wound. "What…what happened Doug?"

"Jess, go downstairs and tell them we need an ambulance. Tom's been shot." Doug said in as calm a voice as he could manage. "Go Jess… NOW!" he said. He watched as she nearly tripped as she ran out of the room to get help.

Doug turned his attention back to his friend. "Tommy…come on man. Hang on, help's coming okay?" He reached up and brushed the loose hair that had fallen onto Tom's face. It was then that he noticed the bruises on his face and he checked for any other injuries. He gasped when he saw the large bluish marks that were forming on his ribcage. "Shit!" he let escape as the anger began to build up inside him. He checked for any other injuries and was surprised when he felt the huge lump on the back of his head. _What the hell happened in here? _Doug wondered. He was startled when he heard Tom take in a sharp breath. He noticed Tom's eyes begin to flutter. "That's it Tom. Can you hear me?" he asked.

Tom's eyes fluttered a bit more before finally opening. He blinked a few times to bring the blurry object in front of him into focus. He was surprised to find Doug there, looking at him with worry written across his face. "Wh..what happened?" he whispered. His body was betraying him, the pain coursing through his body like wildfire. He arched his back as the stabbing pain in his left side became too much for him to handle. "Hurts!" he let out.

Doug grasped Tom's hand and held it tight for support. "It's okay Hanson. Everything is going to be fine. Jess is getting help. Just hang on for me, okay?" He watched helplessly as Tom's face screwed up in pain. He managed a nod before letting out a moan of pain. "Hang on Tom." Doug said, but he noticed that Tom had already rejoined the world of unconsciousness.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14 Chapter 14

Doug sat in the small white hospital room watching his friend for any signs that he was waking up. It had been a long night and as he looked at his watch, Doug noticed that it was now early morning. The sun would be coming up in another hour or so. Doug rubbed his hand over his face and stood up to stretch. He walked over to Tom's bed and stared down at his best friend. "That was way too close buddy." He said quietly. "Don't you ever do that to me again, do you hear me?" Doug was beyond exhaustion from the events of the evening. He had waited in the waiting room with Jessica as Tom was in surgery for the gunshot wound. The surgery had taken a few hours because he had lost a lot of blood. Luckily the bullet missed any vital organs, but it had become lodged behind his kidney. The doctor had told Doug that it was tricky for them to remove it, but they were able to do it successfully. Tom also suffered a concussion from being hit across the head. It had been almost two o'clock in the morning before they were able to move Tom into his own room. He had yet to regain consciousness, but the doctors told Doug that it would probably be a while before he did. Doug was actually glad that he didn't have to tell Tom that Linda had been kidnapped yet. He knew that information would be brutal to Tom.

Sighing, Doug settled back into the chair next to the bed. He felt his eyes begin to close and was almost asleep when he heard Tom's heart monitor begin to pick up pace. His eyes opened and he sat up straight in his chair, keeping a close eye on Tom. "Tom? Hey man, it's okay." He said, standing up and moving over to the bed. He noticed Tom's body begin to twitch and that he was sweating. His arms and legs began to thrash around.

Suddenly Tom yelled out, "NO! Linda, no!"

Doug put his hand on Tom's arm to try and calm him. "Tom, wake up." He said. "Wake up Hanson."

Tom's body shook as he tried to wake up from the nightmare that held him. _He watched as Gavin grabbed Linda and pulled her out the door. _ "NO! NO! NOOOOOOO!" he yelled and was finally able to open his eyes. He sat up straight, but winced as the pain shot through his side. "Ahhh!" he yelled.

"Tommy, calm down." Doug said, putting his hands on Tom's shoulders and pushing him back down. "Lie back down, before you hurt yourself anymore."

Tom let out a shaky breath as he lay back against the pillow. "Where am I?" he said finally as the pain became a dull throb.

"The hospital." Doug said, pulling up a chair next to the bed. "You were shot."

Tom closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them, he looked Doug in the eyes and asked, "Have they found Linda?"

Doug looked away quickly, unsure of what to say. When he looked back at Tom, he could see the sadness in his eyes. He shook his head. "I'm sorry Tom, but Gavin took her. The police are out looking for them right now."

Tom tried to sit back up. "I've got to go find her Doug. Who knows what Gavin's going to do to her." He tried to resist as Doug pushed him back down, holding him there.

"You're not in any shape to get out of that bed." Doug said. His face soften as he added, "We're going to find her Tom."

Tom couldn't hold back the tears anymore. "I can't loose her now Doug." He whispered.

"You won't, I promise." Doug said. "I promise."


	15. Chapter 15

**This chapter is dedicated to orbitbystarlight who thought it would be good to bring in Booker on this. Thanks for the idea! Enjoy**!

**Chapter 15**

Once Doug was sure that Tom was sleeping, he stepped out to make a phone call. The phone rang a few times before the familiar voice answered.

"Jump Street Chapel. Captain Fuller speaking."

Doug cleared his throat before speaking. "Hey Captain."

"Doug! How are you and Tom enjoying your vacation?" Fuller asked.

"Well…" Doug began. "It started out fine."

Fuller knew right away something was wrong. "What is it Doug?"

Doug let out a sigh. "It's a long story Captain."

"Go ahead Doug. I've got plenty of time."

"Well, do you remember Linda McHugh?"

"Tom's old girlfriend? The one that owned the club that was supplying the LSD to kids?" Fuller asked.

"Yeah, that's the one. Well, we ran into her out here and Tom proposed to her." Doug said.

"What?" Fuller asked, surprised. "Did she accept?"

"Yeah, she did. I've never seen Tom so happy Captain."

"But…?" Fuller prompted. He knew that wasn't the end of the story.

"Gavin McHugh was released from prison early." Doug said. "He…he kidnapped Linda."

"Where's Hanson? How is he handling all of this?" Fuller asked, concerned.

"He's in the hospital." Doug answered.

"WHAT?" Fuller said. "What's happened?"

"Gavin shot him."

"Is he okay?" Fuller asked, growing more concerned.

"Yeah, he's going to be fine. He had lost a lot of blood, but the doctor said he's going to be just fine. They're going to keep him in here for a week or so." Doug explained. "Captain, he tried to leave this morning to go and look for Linda."

"Doug, do whatever you have to to keep him in there. I'm going to call Booker."

Doug was puzzled. "Dennis? How come?"

"Booker moved his PI firm to Los Angeles. I think he may be able to help you guys out with this one."

"Okay Captain." Doug said. "Tom's at the county hospital, room 657."

"Okay, I'll let Booker know. Keep me updated, okay Doug?" Fuller asked.

"Will do. Thanks." Doug said before hanging up the phone. He walked over to the vending machine and grabbed a cup of coffee. Then he walked back to Tom's room and was surprised when he opened the door and found Jessica sitting in the chair next to Tom's bed. When she saw him, she made her way over and wrapped her arms around his waist.

"How is he doing?" she asked.

Doug sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Physically, he's going to be fine. But as far as Linda's concerned, he's falling apart. He was so upset about her when he woke up that the nurse had to sedate him." Doug caught a glance of his friend, who was finally resting peacefully. "He tried to leave to go look for her."

Jessica glanced over at Tom. "I feel so bad for him."

"Yeah, me too." Doug said, taking a seat next to the bed. Jessica sat down in the chair next to him.

"Have you eaten anything yet Doug?" Jessica asked, taking his hand. When he shook his head, she stood up. "How about I go and get you something from the cafeteria?"

Doug kissed her on the cheek. "That would be great. Thanks Jess." He watched her as she left the room. He then turned his attention back to his partner, who had begun to stir in his bed. Tom opened his eyes and for a brief moment made contact with Doug.

"Hey Tommy." Doug said. "How are you feeling?"

"Okay."

Doug laid a hand on his friend's arm. "I called Fuller. He's going to call Booker." When Doug got no response, he continued. "Booker's a PI in Los Angeles now. Fuller thought that maybe he could help somehow."

"Great." Tom said. "Just what I need, Booker coming to the rescue."

"Come on Tom. Maybe Booker can track down Gavin." Doug started. "We need all the help we can get if we want to find Linda."

"Of course I want to find Linda!" Tom yelled. His voice quieted and he said, "Sorry Doug. I…I just want her back."

"I know Tom and we'll find her." Doug said. "Before you know it, you'll be walking down the aisle together."

Tom smiled at the thought. Then he looked Doug in the eye and added, "I hope so."

"Hey, since when do you give up so easy?" Doug asked.

Tom sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "You're right. We'll find her. We will."

Doug patted Tom on the shoulder. "That's right, you have to believe that."

"I do." Tom said. "I have to."


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

Dennis Booker walked into County Hospital and made his way to the reception desk. A young, curvy blonde stood behind the counter and smiled as he walked up to her.

"Hi there." She said, flashing him another smile. "Can I help you?"

Dennis leaned into the counter and smiled back. "Yeah. Can you point me in the direction of Tom Hanson's room? Room 657?"

"Sure." She said. She pointed down the hallway to the left. "It's your fourth door on the right."

Dennis took her hand and placed a kiss on top. "Thank you." He said with a wink. He watched as the blonde blushed and quickly took her hand away. Smiling to himself, he walked down the hallway and knocked on the door before entering.

"Come in." he heard a voice say. Dennis would know that voice anywhere. As he opened the door, he saw Doug Penhall sitting in the chair next to Tom's bed. He noticed that Tom was sleeping as he walked over to Doug and shook his hand.

"Hey, how's he doing?" Dennis asked.

"Not so great." Doug replied. "Physically he's going to be fine. The bullet didn't cause any permanent damage."

"Good." Dennis said. "Fuller filled me in on what's been happening."

"What do you think?" Doug asked.

Dennis sat down beside Doug and opened up his folder that he had been carrying. "Well, I've already made a few phone calls and he doesn't have any flight plans made. I think he's actually keeping Linda around here."

"What? Would he be that stupid?" Doug asked. "I mean, to keep her here would be incredibly risky."

"I found out that he owns a few clubs around here. Plus, he has a house up in Santa Barbara." Dennis said. "My bet is, he has her out there."

"Let's go find her."

Dennis and Doug were both startled by the voice coming from the bed. "Hey Hanson, how you feeling?" Dennis asked.

"Fine." He said, trying to sit up, wincing in pain.

Doug gently pushed him back down. "Hanson, you're not going anywhere." His face softened and he added, "I'll go with Dennis to search for her."

Tom shook his head and began to sit up again. "Not without me your not."

"Hanson, you can't even sit up, let alone go searching for Linda." Doug interrupted.

"Doug, I'm going whether you like it or not. So don't try to stop me." Tom was finally able to sit up and starting looking for his clothes. "Where did they put my clothes?" he asked Doug.

Doug sighed and shook his head. He knew better than to argue with Tom once he had his mind set at something. He walked over to the closet and got Tom's things and handed them to him. "I really think you should just stay here until you've had time to heal."

Tom took the clothes and carefully slid his shirt on. "You're not my mother Doug. I'm a grown man." He stood and slowly put his jeans on. "Now, are you coming with me or am I going to find Linda by myself?"

Doug looked at Dennis, who just shrugged his shoulders. "Fine, but if I see that you can't handle being out of the hospital yet, I'll bring your ass back here so fast you won't know what hit you!"

Tom smiled and patted Doug on the back. "Deal. Now, can we get out of here please?" Tom wrapped an arm protectively around his middle and slowly walked out of the hospital room. Doug and Dennis looked at each other and then followed him out.

The trio had made it halfway down the hallway when the doctor stopped them. "Officer Hanson, where do you think you're going?" He took hold of Tom's arm and tried to lead him back to his room. Tom would have none of this and shrugged loose from the doctor's grip.

"I'm leaving. I've got to go find my fiancé." Tom began to walk away once again, ignoring the look on the doctor's face.

"I can't let you leave Officer Hanson. You still need some time to recover."

"Try and stop me." Tom said. "You can't keep me here."

"Then you're leaving against medical advice. You'll have to sign yourself out then." The doctor said, handing Hanson his chart.

"Fine with me." Tom said, signing the paper and handing it back to the doctor. Then, he turned to Doug and Dennis and said, "Are you coming or what?"

Doug and Dennis walked up to their injured friend. Doug turned back and sent an apologetic look to the doctor before walking out the door. He shook his head once again and then climbed into the front seat of Dennis' car. He turned to the backseat and asked, "Tommy, you sure you want to do this?"

The only response he got was a nod from his friend as he looked blankly out the window. Doug turned back to the front as Dennis pulled the car out of the parking lot. _This is going to be a long trip, _he thought. _I just hope Tom knows what he's doing._


	17. Chapter 17

**I know this is short, but Orbitbystarlight asked for a chapter with Linda and Gavin…hope this works for you! Hopefully I'll get some more up soon. Thanks!**

Chapter 17

Linda found herself lying on a bed in a rather large bedroom. Her hands were tied to the bedposts, as were her feet. She struggled against the ropes, only to succeed in rubbing her wrists raw. She was beginning to panic. Gavin and Tony had brought her in here and tied her up and then left the room quite quickly. Before she could stop herself, the memory of Tom lying on the floor, motionless, with a gunshot wound flashed through her mind. Tears formed in her eyes and she quickly blinked, trying to prevent them from falling. She nearly jumped off the bed when the door opened and in walked Gavin McHugh. All she could do is glare at him as he made his way over to the bed and sat down next to her. She tried to move away as he brought his hand up and rubbed the side of her face.

"I've missed you Linda." Gavin began. "It's been a long time darling." He bent over and kissed her softly on the lips. To his surprise, Linda spit in his face. He took out a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped the wetness from his cheek. "That wasn't very nice my dear." He grabbed her face and made her look at him. "Don't make me hurt you."

"Go to hell Gavin." Linda said. She struggled to get out of his grip, but the fact that she was tied up prevented her from doing so.

Gavin laughed and let go of Linda. "Maybe you'd like to join Officer Hanson there. Last time I saw him, he didn't look to well."

"Tommy's not dead." Linda stuttered. Gavin laughed and stood up.

"It's just you and me now Linda. We can pick up where we left off."

Linda shook her head. "No Gavin. Tom and I are getting married." She noticed the look of anger cross Gavin's face. "I don't love you. I never did." Linda gasped as a hard hand landed across her face.

"Maybe I should teach you to love me then." Gavin said, sitting down beside her once again. His hand was placed on her knee and slowly began traveling up her leg. Linda fought to get away from the unwelcome touch. Her body began trembling as she closed her eyes tightly.

"Gavin, no…" she whispered. She couldn't stand the thought of his hand making it's way up her body. "Please, no." Gavin's response was leaning in and kissing her roughly. His hands began to roam her body as she fought harder against his touch. As he leaned in for another kiss, Linda decided to fight back. When his lips touched hers, she bit down hard on his bottom lip. Gavin groaned and pulled back, his hand wiping blood away from his lip. He became very angry and backhanded her, hard, across the face. Linda cried out in pain as her cheek stung from the impact.

"I'll deal with you later." Gavin said, standing up and walking to the door. He turned back around and said, "I'll show you that you can't get away with that again." He slammed the door as he left the room.

Linda took in a shaky breath and let the tears fall freely from her eyes. She closed them tightly and tried to stay quiet as the sobs took over her body. _Please, Tommy…help me. Please._


	18. Chapter 18

**Sorry for the delays with this story… Sorry for the delays with this story….I've had a horrible time trying to come up with ideas of where it should go…it's so frustrating. Hopefully it doesn't suck; I'd really hate it if this story didn't turn out very good! Anyway, thanks for hanging in there with me. **

**Chapter 18**

Doug and Dennis were discussing the events of the past few days as Dennis steered the car onto the Pacific Coast Highway.

"So Hanson really proposed to this girl?" Dennis asked, catching a glimpse of the sleeping officer in the backseat. "I mean, after only a couple of days?"

"Yeah, but it wasn't really only a couple of days." Doug answered. "They knew each other before the academy and apparently he had proposed to her back then as well. Besides, I can tell that he really loves Linda. This is the happiest I've seen him in a really long time."

Dennis shook his head in disbelief. "I still can't believe Hanson is engaged."

Doug sighed and said, "Yeah, well, let's hope that they both make it to the wedding." Doug took a look at his friend sleeping in the seat behind him. "I don't know what he'll do if we don't find her."

"We'll find her Doug. Trust me."

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Tom awoke with a start when the car came to a halt. He stretched and instantly regretted it as a sharp pain shot throughout his body. He couldn't stop the moan that escaped his lips.

"You okay Tom?" Doug asked, turning in his seat.

Tom grimaced and said, "Yeah, I'm fine."

"You sure? You don't look…" Doug started.

"Shut up Doug." Tom said. "I'm fine, will you just lay off?"

Doug held his hands up in a submissive gesture. "Okay, okay. I'm just worried about you. You should still be in the hospital."

Tom cleared his throat. "Yeah, sorry I bit your head off." He looked out the window and noticed a large sprawling house situated on the hill in front of them. "Is this it?"

Dennis nodded. "Yeah, this is Gavin's house." He noticed Tom reaching for the door handle and put a hand on his arm. "Hanson, we can't just go barging in there. We've got to take this slowly and use some caution." Dennis pulled out a folded paper and opened it up.

"What's that?" Tom asked.

"I've got the blueprints to his house. Let's take a look at this and see which way would be best to get in." Dennis said.

As the officers were studying the blueprints, Tom took out his gun and checked to make sure it was loaded. Doug and Dennis followed suit.

"Hey, uh guys…" Tom started. "I, uh, thanks. Thanks for helping me find Linda."

Doug patted him on the shoulder and said, "Hey, no need for thanks. Would you expect us to be anywhere else?"

The officers got out of the car and quietly walked up the hill to find an eight-foot wrought iron fence surrounding Gavin's house. Tom holstered his gun and grabbed onto the fence and pulled himself up and carefully made his way over the top. Gently, he made his way down and dropped to the ground on one knee, grasping his side. Doug and Dennis quickly made their way over and knelt down beside their friend.

"Tommy, you okay?" Doug asked. He could see his friend's face had become pale and sweaty. He could also see a bit of fresh blood seeping through the bandage. "Shit, Tom, you're bleeding. I should have never let you leave that hospital."

Tom brushed Doug's hand away. "I'm okay. Just give me a minute." After a moment, Tom was able to stand, although he kept one hand pressed to the bandage on his side. "Okay, let's go find Linda." He took the lead and made his way quietly to the back of the house. He quickly ducked into the bushes when he spotted someone inside. "Gavin." He whispered.

Doug was standing outside another window when he noticed someone inside. He'd know that red hair anywhere. Linda seemed to be tied to the bed in the room, but she seemed to fine, physically at least. Doug turned and caught the attention of his partners. He motioned for them to come over to where he was standing. "She's in here." He whispered to them as they joined him.

Tom felt his blood begin to boil as he saw his fiancé inside the room. "That son of a bitch." He whispered. He watched as Dennis began fumbling with the window. He was able to pry it open and quietly waited as Tom and Doug made their way inside.

Linda jumped slightly at the sound coming from the window. Then she gasped in surprise when she saw Tom Hanson climb in from the window, followed by Doug and another man.

"Tommy?" she asked, unable to mask her surprise.

Tom ran over to her and immediately began untying her ropes. "Linda, are you okay? Did he hurt you?"

Linda shook her head and flung her arms around him as the last ropes were let loose. "No, I'm fine. I'm so glad you're here. I thought you were dead." She pulled back to look into his eyes and brushed her lips against his.

Tom pulled away and ran his fingers through her hair. "You can't get rid of me that easy." He couldn't help the moan that passed his lips when Linda threw her arms back around him.

"Tommy, what is it?" She pulled back and noticed the way he was clutching at his side. He was also pale and small beads of sweat dripped down his face.

"Nothing."

"Don't lie to me Tommy." She carefully moved his hand and saw the small patch of blood on his shirt. "Oh my god, you're bleeding."

"It's okay, it's just the gunshot wound. I'm fine." Tom said.

"Guys, I hate to break this up, but we should probably get going." Dennis said. "We can get Hanson back to the hospital after we get out of here."

"Oh, I don't think that any of you are going to make it to the hospital." Gavin's voice rang out as the door opened. "In fact, the only place you're going to need is a morgue."


	19. Chapter 19

**Okay, here we go again…. Some more torture and all that fun stuff! I wanted to say thanks to Ghostwriter, LibraryTech and of course my TT buddy, firebunee for sticking it out with me on this one…you guys are the best! All of your kind reviews make me want to keep writing! Love ya all!**

**Chapter 19**

Gavin stepped into the room, Tony following close behind. Both men had guns trained on the officers and Linda. Gavin walked up to Tom and stood face to face with him. Doug began to take a step towards them, but was stopped when Tony pointed his gun at him.

"Tommy, my dear friend…you're not looking very good. Do you need to sit down?" Gavin said with a smirk.

"Go to hell Gavin." Tom said. He glared at Gavin as he took his gun. Gavin then motioned for Tony to do the same with the other officers.

Gavin let a smile cross his lips before he backhanded Tom across the face. He laughed as Tom let out a groan. "Now, now Tommy. Is that any way to speak in front of a lady?"

"Leave him alone Gavin." Linda yelled, coming up to Tom's side. She reached out to see if he was okay, only to have Gavin grab her roughly by the arm. "Let go of me." She said, trying to wrench her arm away. Gavin just laughed and pulled her close to him.

"Linda dear, is that any way to treat your husband?" he asked. He twisted her arm behind her back and pulled her even closer. He was pleased when her face grimaced in pain.

"Get your damn hands off of her." Tom said, stepping forward. He watched as Gavin pointed the gun in his face and decided it was best to not push him. "Leave her alone Gavin."

"Oh, I don't think so. I've got big plans for my Linda here." He ran his finger over her cheek as she struggled to get away. Tom stepped towards them only to have the gun aimed at Linda's head. "Don't do anything stupid or I'll end it right here."

Tom stopped dead in his tracks. He looked Linda in the eyes, only to see her pleading with him to stop. "Okay, okay…just don't hurt her."

Gavin then turned to Tony and said, "Tie those two up." Tony nodded and kept the gun aimed at Booker and Doug as he motioned for them to sit on the floor. He then tossed Booker some rope. "Tie up your partner there." Booker had no choice but to obey the command. Once he had secured Doug's hands, he sat helplessly as Tony tied his hands up.

Gavin kept the gun trained on Tom as he pushed Linda towards Tony. "Take her into the living room. I've got some business to attend to with the officers here." Tony nodded and grabbed hold of Linda, practically dragging her out of the room. Gavin turned momentarily to say something else to Tony and that's when Tom took the opportunity to jump him from behind. Gavin let out a startled gasp as he fell to the floor, Tom landing on top of him. In their struggle to gain control, Gavin dropped his gun and it landed a few feet from them. Tom managed to get on top of Gavin and land a solid punch to his face. He drew his arm back to deliver another blow when Gavin managed to land a fist into Tom's injured side.

"Ahhhh." Tom screamed out in pain, landing in a heap on the floor next to Gavin. Gavin stood up and delivered a vicious kick to his already aching side. Tom tried to block the blows but to no avail. He weakly tried to block the blows, but the pain was too great and he was almost unconscious.

Doug struggled helplessly against his ropes, watching his partner being brutally kicked. "You son of a bitch, I'll kill you with my bare hands!" he yelled. He continued to struggle against the ropes and was finally able to make it to his feet. He did the only thing he could think of and ran towards Gavin, sending the other man hurtling to the ground with a strong tackle. "You're going to pay for this!" Doug screamed as he sent a kick to Gavin's stomach.

Suddenly a gunshot echoed through the air. Doug stopped his assault on Gavin and turned to see Tony standing in the room pointing his gun at Doug. "Get the hell away from him." Tony said. "NOW!" Doug stepped aside, his chest heaving with anger. "Gavin, you okay?" Tony asked his boss.

Gavin was curled into a fetal position, his arms wrapped around his middle. He began coughing violently and Doug turned to him and said, "I'm not finished with you yet."

While the attention was turned away from him, Booker had been working on loosening the ropes around his hands. _Come on damn it! _He thought. _Almost there…yes!_ He was cautious not to alert anyone that he was free and slowly made his way to the gun that was just a foot away from him. He was grateful that Tony was too intent on making sure Gavin was okay. He quickly grabbed the gun and aimed it at Tony, firing a single shot.

Doug jumped in surprise at the sound of the gunshot. Then he watched as Tony screamed in pain and sunk to the floor, a patch of crimson slowly leaking from his leg. Doug quickly moved in and kicked the gun from his hands. Then, thinking quickly sent a blow to the back of Tony's head, sending him unconscious to the floor.

"Nice work." Doug said as Dennis came up to him and untied him. "Thanks." He then took the rope and tied the unconscious man's hands behind his back. "That ought to keep him out of trouble for a bit."

Dennis looked up from where he had been tying up Gavin's hands. "Yeah, he's going to have one hell of a headache when he wakes up."

Hearing a quiet moan, Doug rushed over to Tom, who was beginning to stir. "Hey Hanson, you okay?" Doug noticed that his wound was now bleeding rather heavily and he muttered, "Shit. Hey, Tommy, can you hear me?"

Tom's eyes fluttered open and he winced in pain, trying to sit up. "Ugh…yeah, yeah I'm fine." A look of fear crossed his face and he grabbed at Doug's arm, trying to get up. "Where's Linda?"

"I'll go find her Hanson." Dennis said, getting up and leaving the room.

"Take it easy Tom. You're going to tear your stitches up more." Doug said, laying a hand on his shoulder. "Booker will make sure she's okay." Doug knelt down beside his partner and propped him up against his chest.

"Tommy!" Linda yelled as she ran into the room, followed by Booker. She rushed over to him and saw the bloody patch on his shirt. "Tommy, oh my god! You're hurt!"

"Linda, it's okay." Tom said, grabbing her hand. "Did he hurt you?"

Linda shook her head. "No, no I'm okay."

"I called an ambulance and the cops. They're on their way." Booker said, kneeling down by Tom.

"Thanks." Linda said. As she took Tom's hand, they could hear the sirens in the background. "It's going to be okay Tommy. We'll get you to the hospital and everything's going to be fine. I love you."

"I love you too Linda." Tom said. The pain was beginning to become a dull ache in his side. He let out a shaky breath and pulled Linda close to him. "I love you too." He whispered.

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Doug had his arm wrapped around Linda's shoulders as they watched Tom being loaded into the ambulance. He could feel her shaking slightly and wrapped his arms around her tighter. "He's going to be fine." He told her.

Linda nodded and said, "I know. Tommy's tough." She let out a sigh as the ambulance doors closed and the ambulance pulled out of the driveway. "Thanks for everything Doug. You are such a good friend to Tom."

Doug shrugged his shoulders and said, "He's like a brother to me." He began to lead her over to the police cars gathered at the front of the house. "Come on, let's go to the hospital. Tom's going to want some company after they check him out."

"Okay." Was all Linda said as she climbed into the police cruiser with Doug and Dennis.


	20. Chapter 20

**This one's for my good TT buddy, firebunee who helped me design Linda's dress. Thanks so much for your ideas! Enjoy! **

**Chapter 20**

Six months had passed since that night at Gavin's house. Gavin and Tony had both been arrested for kidnapping and assault and were now spending the next ten years in a federal prison. With Linda and the jump street officers testimonies, the judge guaranteed that there would be no chance for an early parole this time.

Linda had moved back with Tom after he had gotten out of the hospital. They quickly set to work at planning their wedding. Tom had of course asked Doug to be his best man. To his surprise, Dennis was asked to be in the wedding as well. Linda had asked Judy to be one of her bridesmaids, as well as Jessica. Doug was ecstatic that his California beauty had flown out to be part of the wedding.

Tom had been lying in bed watching his redheaded fiancé for the past twenty minutes. A loose strand of hair fell across her face and he reached over to brush it behind her ear, when he noticed her watching him intently.

"Good morning." He said, kissing her nose. "Did you sleep well?"

Linda stretched and yawned before answering. "Yeah, I always do when I get to wake up next to you."

"How about doing it for the next 60 or 70 years?" Tom whispered in her ear.

Linda sighed contently and answered, "I can't think of anything I'd rather do."

Tom pulled Linda in for a hug and as he held her, he asked, "What do you have planned for today?"

"Jessica and Judy are going with me to pick up my dress. Then we're going to the salon and out for dinner." Linda replied. "How about you?"

"Doug, Dennis and I are going to pick up our tuxes, then we're going to Ioki's for some pizza and beers. Fuller's going to meet up with us there."

Linda pulled herself up on her elbows and smiled at Tom. "I still can't believe that tomorrow I'll be Mrs. Tom Hanson."

Tom leaned in and kissed his fiancé tenderly. "I can't wait." Tom said and then leaned in for another kiss. Linda let out a giggle and pulled the covers over them.

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Linda was standing in front of the mirror, glancing at her reflection when she heard a small gasp behind her.

"You look so beautiful!" Jessica said, coming up beside her, followed by Judy.

"You think Tom will like it?" Linda asked hopefully.

"He's a fool if he doesn't." Judy said. She couldn't help but to stare in awe at Linda's wedding dress. Linda had designed it herself and it was breathtaking. It was pure white and lay across her shoulders in a strapless fashion. It was tight fitting up top and then flowed beautifully down to the ground. It was adorned with lace and detailed with beautiful pink pearls that seemed to fit perfectly. A tiara studded with more pearls sat atop her flame red hair. It was going to go perfectly with her bouquet of pink roses and white calla lilies.

"Linda, I still can't believe you designed this." Judy said. "It's so perfect!"

Linda smiled and looked in the mirror once more. "Thanks Judy." Then she turned to the two women with her and added, "I'm so glad you guys are here with me."

"Hey, I wouldn't miss this for the world." Jessica said. "Besides, it means that I can spend some more time with Doug."

"You really like him don't you?" Judy asked. Jessica blushed and nodded. "I know that he really likes you too. I haven't heard him talk about any other woman besides you since he got back from California!"

"Good. I was hoping you'd say that." Jessica said. The girls laughed so hard they were almost in tears. Suddenly Linda stopped and let out a gasp.

"Oh my gosh! I didn't even notice your dresses." Linda said. "They turned out beautifully!" She looked over the pink satin floor length gowns that were held up with small spaghetti straps. They were also accented by small white pearls around the straps and a few placed strategically throughout the gowns.

"Yeah, I won't have to hide this one in the back of my closet with the other ones!" Judy said, laughing. "I won't have to go into hiding after the wedding either!" Linda and Jessica burst out laughing again.

When they were able to regain their composure, Linda looked at her watch and said, "Okay, how about we get out of these for now and go to the salon for some pampering?"

"Sounds good to me." Judy said.

"Me too." Added Jessica.

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"Last night as a bachelor Hanson." Dennis said, handing him a beer. "Better enjoy it while you can."

Tom took the beer and laughed. "You're just jealous Booker because you haven't been able to bribe any girl to marry you." He quickly ducked as Dennis threw a pillow at his head.

"Well, I can see nothing has changed since you've been gone Dennis." Fuller said with a laugh. "Then again, I don't think you two will ever change."

"Come on Captain, at least now they can be in the same room longer than ten minutes." Ioki said.

"Yeah, well, anyone who's willing to put his life on the line for someone that I love is okay in my book." Tom said. "I want to thank you and Doug again for helping me out a few months ago. I don't know what I would have done if I had lost Linda."

Doug put a hand on Tom's shoulder. "Hey, what are friends for?" Dennis came over and put out his hand to Tom, who grasped it firmly.

"I know you would have done the same for me." Dennis said. "Okay, enough seriousness for one night. This is supposed to be a party."

"To Tom and Linda." Doug said, raising his beer.

"To Tom and Linda." Everyone chimed in.

**Okay, so I know this is just some fluffy filler stuff. The wedding day is coming soon…stay tuned. It looks like it's going to be a happy ending for Tom for once!**


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21**

Tom was standing in the church nervously waiting for the ceremony to begin. He shuffled from one foot to another and kept running his hand through his hair. He was so ready for this day to take place, but was beginning to panic a bit hoping that everything would work out perfectly.

"Tom, stop that." Doug whispered. "You're making _me _nervous!" He smiled as Tom quickly ran his hand through his hair once again.

"I can't help it Doug." Tom replied. "I just can't believe that we're finally going through with this."

Doug laughed. "I know man. Who would have thought? My best friend getting hitched!"

Tom laughed and shook his head. "I really love her man. I can't picture my life without her."

Doug patted Tom on the back and was about to reply when the organ began playing. He and Tom turned to wait for the bride to come out.

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Linda turned to catch a glimpse of her reflection in the full-length mirror. She took a deep breath before letting it out. She couldn't believe how nervous she felt. She smiled as Jessica and Judy came up behind her. "This is really happening, isn't it?" she asked.

Jessica smiled and said, "Yeah…your fairy tale is coming true." She gave Linda a hug and then helped her put her tiara on. "You look beautiful. Just like a princess."

Judy handed her the bouquet of beautiful pink roses and white calla lilies. "Are you ready to become Mrs. Tom Hanson?"

Linda let out a shaky breath and nodded. She looked once more at her reflection in the mirror. She truly felt like a princess and she smiled at the thought of marrying her high school sweetheart. She and Tom could finally be together and make the most out of their future. "Mrs. Tom Hanson." Linda whispered, a smile crossing her face. "I like the sound of that." She said a bit louder.

Judy came up and gave her a hug. "Well, what do you say we go make your dreams come true?"

Linda nodded and followed behind Judy and Jessica. Once the organ began playing, Harry Ioki took hold of Judy's arm and led her down the aisle. Once they got to the front of the chapel, Harry gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and walked over to stand beside Doug.

The next couple down the aisle was Jessica and Dennis Booker. Doug couldn't help but to let out a gasp at the beauty walking down the aisle towards him. He noticed that she whispered "Hey" to him and he returned the comment with a smile. He was surprised when she sent him a wink as well. Booker led her over to Judy's side and then took his place next to Harry.

Tom took one last look at Doug when the organ began to play the introduction for Linda's walk down the aisle. He noticed everyone in the church standing and turning their attention to the back of the church as they waited for the bride to make her entrance. Tom caught his mother smiling at him and he returned the smile when she blew him a kiss and whispered, "I love you Tommy."

Tom returned his attention when he saw Linda being led out to the center aisle by Captain Adam Fuller. Tom let out a shaky breath at the sight before him. Linda looked beautiful in her gown and he couldn't wait for her to make her way down the aisle. He smiled at her and she smiled at him as she made her way down towards her future husband. Once they made it to the front of the chapel, she turned and gave Fuller a hug and whispered, "Thank you."

Fuller kissed her on the cheek and said, "Your welcome." He then shook Tom's hand and made his way over to take a seat next to Margaret Hanson.

The ceremony began with the priest saying, "Who gives this woman to this man?"

Captain Fuller stood up and said, "I do Father."

"Very well." The priest stated. "Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to celebrate the marriage of Thomas Hanson Jr. and Linda McHugh. They wish to share in the unity of their love with all of their friends and family members today."

The ceremony went on beautifully. Linda had tears in her eyes as Tom slipped the ring on her finger and repeated his vows. She had noticed that Tom too had a tear in his eye as she slid the ring on his finger.

"I now pronounce you husband and wife." The priest stated. "You may kiss the bride." Tom leaned in and wrapped his arms around Linda, pulling her in close for a passionate kiss. Doug couldn't help but to let out a whoop as he witness Tom and Linda's kiss. They both pulled away from each other and looked at him before bursting out into hysterics. The people in the church were quick to join in.

When the church calmed down, the priest took a deep breath, and announced, "Ladies and gentlemen, I present you Mr. And Mrs. Thomas Hanson." Tom took Linda's hand and led her down the aisle, their friends and family applauding the happy couple as they made their way to the back of the church.

Once they reached the doors, Tom turned to Linda and said, "I love you Mrs. Hanson." He leaned in and kissed her again.

"I love you too." Linda said. "I am so happy."

Tom smiled and brought her in close for a hug. "Me too."

"Okay guys, break it up!" Doug said. "You've got the rest of your lives to do that stuff. Right now, it's time to get this party started!"

Tom and Linda looked at each other and laughed. They were looking forward to the rest of their lives as a happy married couple. To them, the future was promising and bright. A future together as Mr. And Mrs. Tom Hanson.

**Okay, so I'm not real happy with this ending, but I sort of run out of ideas for it. I apologize, but hey, what can I say? Maybe sometime I can fix it up a bit. Thanks for all of your wonderful and kind reviews because I appreciate every single one of them! I've got a new story out, called Ghost (I may change the name at one point) so if you'd be so kind to check it out and review, I'd be so happy! Anyway, thanks again for all the encouragement and support! -tewksgirl**


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